Scotland edge Wales in Six Nations thriller to end Cardif curse

Scotland survived a stunning fightback by Wales to end their 22-year wait for a win in Cardiff with a 27-26 victory in their Six Nations opener on Saturday.

The Scots were 27-0 up early in the second half only for Wales to score 26 unanswered points of their own.

The visitors were in command after Duhan van der Merwe went over for the second of his two tries — and his side’s third in all after prop Pierre Schoeman crossed in the first half

But a new-look Wales, aided by a couple of Scotland yellow cards, then hit back with four tries as James Botham, grandson of England cricket great Ian Botham, Rio Dyer, impressive No 8 Aaron Wainwright and replacement Alex Mann all crossed to the delight of a raucous crowd.

Scotland were now clinging on to a one-point lead heading into the final 10 minutes.

But they regained their composure sufficiently to end the match by laying siege to the Wales line, with Van der Merwe being denied a hat-trick by the television match official.

The nail-biting win meant Scotland ended a run of 11 straight defeats in the Welsh capital, a sequence including nine Six Nations losses.